Love books set with either bookstores or books themselves as a character. Interesting storytelling and loved the narration, would read more by this author

I listened to the audiobook of The Vanishing Bookstore by Helen Phifer, which was narrated by the exceptional Stephanie Cannon. The story centers around a family of good “herbal-type” witches whose main goal is to help others. The dual story timeline begins at the time of the Salem witch trials and also during present day. Unfortunately the family is cursed to live their lives over and over again, while also retaining the memories the past lives (for the most part). The rest of the story focuses on the family trying to break the curse.

The premise is one that should appeal to most who enjoy fantasy and are interested in the history of the witch trials. I would also classify this as more of a young adult or “new” adult story.

This was incredible.

Since reading Weyward, I’ve been looking for something that gives me the same feels and this gave me them all!

This book centers around Dora and her family who are cursed and keep being reborn to live their lives again, ever since the Salem witch trials. Dora never remembers her previous lives but it's up to her to break the curse before Corbean can kill her again.

The book is fun to listen along to and had me wondering how it was going to end. It's definitely a cozy read and I enjoyed the narrator.

The Vanishing Library
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed the story. You will cheer for the characters.
I couldn't put it down the whole first half of the book. It felt like the later part got confusing. This was my first time with this Author. It was fun & interesting!
Thank you NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

This story follows the English family, a family of influential female witches, through their first lives and present-day existences. Dora English knows nothing of her family's complicated history and the role she and her vanishing bookstore play in breaking a centuries-old curse and changing the trajectory for her and her family.

THE VERDICT: 3.75 (rounded up)

WHAT I LIKED:
- I've read so many fun witchy books lately, and this one reminded me a lot of Weyward in some aspects, which I loved.
- The different periods were fun to explore
- Each of the English women had such a unique personality, and it was fun once the four of them all got together
- Despite the threat to their family, this book still gave cozy vibes, and I enjoyed the settings of Salem and the UK

WHAT WAS A MISS:
- The pacing felt off; the book didn't pick up until at least halfway through
- The description felt off-base; I was expecting more of a story about a bookstore, where, in actuality, that was only a tiny part of the plot
- It took a long time to get a complete picture of what the conflict was and what the English family needed to do to break the curse
- It was sometimes hard to keep track of everything going on, but this may have been because I did the audiobook for this one
- Some inclusions felt random (ex, Lenny's foray when she was heading to the airport)

Not sure what I expected when I picked this book but I was pleasantly surprised by it. This is the first book of Helen’s that I’ve read that wasn’t a thriller, but it was equally as good. The title is a bit deceiving, it’s definitely more about the English women than about a bookstore, but the bookstore does hold the key.

I love that this book takes place mainly in Salem Massachusetts. Books that take place close to home always thrill me. Even though I’ve never been, I know enough about Salem to make me feel connected to it.

The majority of this book is about the connections between Dora and her mother and aunts, what they’ve been through back to when they were hung during the time of the Witch Trials. But there’s also a little romance in it. Dora and Ambrose, even through hundreds of years, still share a special bond.

Stephanie did a great job with the narration of this story. She does a great job differentiating between the characters and made me feel connected to each of them.

I would happily read another historical fiction by Helen.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ALC of this book.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. Two of my favorite Halloween movies are, 'Hocus Pocus' and 'Practical Magic'. This book sounded just like those movies and in fact they are even mentioned in the book, but the book was far too cheesy and lacked a good plot.

This book was delightful! Cozy, with just enough suspense to keep me intrigued. The characters were charming and the plot interesting.

adventurous mysterious medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0

Tropes:
Fated love, magical family, reincarnation, witch hunter, epic battle good vs evil
Bio:
Present day- Dora is heading back to Salem to reunite with her aunts & mother. However Dora will also be reunited with the secrets the family are keeping & the English women legacy.
1600s- The English women live amongst the witch hysteria. This is a particularly dangerous time for women who are magically inclined. The men that love them are connected to the witch trails, but only one of pair is truly in love.

Love this 💕:
💕Hades the talking crow
💕 Magical family
💕reincarnations of the family members

Cup of tea ☕️:
☕️ Original bio I felt wasn’t an accurate description of the story and it’s strengths
☕️ Vanishing Bookstore wasn’t central to story the entire time
Ideal Reader:
✨Someone looking for a final battle against evil
✨Fans of practical Magic

This story has two timelines - 1692 and present day for the English sisters (and niece). Dora has a flower shop in England where a man comes in for flowers and makes her uncomfortable. Enough so that she decides to join her aunt on a last minute trip and leads her to learn about her family and so much more about their lives. I enjoyed the descriptions of Salem. The characters were interesting and the urgency for them to find a book in the vanishing bookstore had me on the edge of my seat.

I listened to the audiobook. Stephanie Cannon did a good job with the narration. I was easily able to distinguish the characters.

Thank you to the author, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the Advanced Listener Copy (ALC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This is a fantastic story that mixes Groundhog Day vibes and the Salem Witch Trials as the four English women are cursed to live a portion of their lives while being hunted. I loved the story and the relationship between the English women - the writing is vivid and engaging. The only thing I wish is that the bookstore played more of a role throughout the book, but I did love the last chapter of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publish for an advance audiobook (ALC), all opinions are my own.

As someone who doesn't often listen to audiobooks as they typically do not hold my interest for long, this story held my interest for all 8 hours at speed 1.

The storyline was wholesome with the right amount of sarcasm. The story was pleasant to follow even with the switching between time periods.

If you are looking for a lighter read with a great storyline, I highly recommend.

First, a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me the audiobook preview of this book in exchange for my honest review. I would say this book is at a 3.5 ish for me for a few reasons. First, the narrative structure at the beginning was really unclear, so it took a hot minute to understand the premise of the book and then to connect fully with the characters. Also, the ending for me was really unsatisfying and anticlimactic. In the middle chapters, though, the book and characters really came to life and once the lead up to the final confrontation was underway, I couldn’t put it down until I knew what happened. I think this book has awesome bones, but lacks the clarity to hold it in a higher range for me. I would be excited to see the author expand more on this genre and continue to branch out from her thriller roots.

Cosy witchy book! Easy read/listen, great for when you just want to sit down and relax with uncomplicated story. There's an interesting take of the curse to bevrebotn again and again but otherwise fairly predictable plot. Not necessarily a bad thing, depends what you are looking for.

P. S. My favourite was Hades! :)

3.75 ⭐️’s If you loved Practical Magic and the Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic then you will enjoy this story. The generations of witches trying to overcome untimely death in each life time was a touching sentiment. Loved how they all bonded together to save one of their own so she could have a happy ending!

I received an ARC of this audiobook from NetGallery and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A 5-star premise with a 3 star execution. I wanted to love, and really thought I was going to, but found the ramp-up and resolution to be automatic and eye-rolling. For the seasonal reader, it would be a fantastic late-September/early-October read to get you excited about pumpkin spice lattes and maybe make you want to book that trip to Salem, MA for some sightseeing! But if you’re looking for exciting and intriguing, this may not be it.

This was a fun ride that would be great for an October read . . . the January release is a bit perplexing, if I’m being honest! Told from multiple POVs, and using different time-periods, we are introduced to the English witches who are on, I believe, the eight iteration of their lives. The premise is great, a family of witches that were captured and hanged are cursed to relive their lives over and over while being chased by the witch-hunter who originally accused and captured them in Salem, MA. The locating of a “book,” hidden by the youngest witch in 1612m appears to be the critical piece to breaking this curse.

I was truly engaged with the book/audio in the beginning and loved the idea of it. The story was compelling and exciting and who doesn’t love a book about witches, set in Salem, with callbacks to the witch trials of the 1600s? But I’m sad to say that once the ball was rolling and all the women were reunited, there were just so many holes and unexplained story points that I was a bit frustrated. For example, these women keep being reborn and suffer the same outcome at the same ages, and appear to maintain their memories of each life. But it is unclear what, if anything, they learn from life to life in an effort to break their curse. But, more importantly, you never know why they’ve done things “differently” this time. What in their previous life suggested that eliminating their niece's memories of all previous lives and raising her in a separate country would lead to the curse's end.

Another point of contention--immediate resolution. There was no tension or excitement as we approached the climax, it was simply boom, character suddenly has all of her memories and now a once meek woman knows just what needs to be done. It was whatever the magical-realism equivalent of “instalove” is called.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me listen and review this book. I'd recommend this book if you liked The Bell Witches or enjoy cosy, light, witchy books. The narrator on the audiobook was lovely, I could listen to it all day long.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this book.

This was a fun family focused witch book that was like Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic and a bit of Halloweentown but also something else entirely. Super fun for getting in the spooky season mood.